The Indomitable Lions begin effective training today for the upcoming crucial encounter against Libya counting for the second round qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The bulk of the 25 players summoned by the coach Volker Finke, have responded present. The Lions are scheduled to have two training sessions a day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. On Wednesday September 4th, there will be a press conference at the CAF excellence centre in Mbankomo. On Friday, September 6th, the first fifteen minutes of the Lion's training will be open to the public and the press while the rest will take place behind closed gates.
Meanwhile a media campaign has been launched in the bill up to the encounter on Sunday, September 8th, 2013 notably with visits by the team officials to certain media houses in the nation's capital. During his visit to Cameroon Tribune, Volker Finke defended his choice of players, saying he opted for players who play regularly in their clubs. He however, said some choices were to pre-empt any eventuality that could incapacitate any of the first choice players. The absence of home-based players, he said was due to the low level of the MTN Elite One and MTN Elite Two championships.
Cameroon needs a draw or a victory to sail through to the third and last qualifying round as they lead Group I on 10 points, followed by Libya on 9 points, the Democratic Republic of Congo, 6 points and Togo, last of the group with barely one point. While Congo and Togo are out of the race, Libya and Cameroon are still in the contention for the group ticket for the third round qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. A defeat for Cameroon will mean the end of the road for the Lions who have already missed out on two consecutive editions of the Africa Cup of Nations. The Libyans still believe in their chances and started training in Tunisia, one week ahead of the training camp of the Indomitable Lions. They beat the Black Stars of Ghana 1-0 in a friendly in preparation for the confrontation against Cameroon. In the away leg, Libya beat Cameroon 2-1 and are therefore an opponent to be taken very seriously so as to avoid any unpleasant surprise.